1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to recording an event and to devices used to record an event. The invention further, and more particularly, relates to recording an event in which multiple persons participate (a “group event”) and, even more particularly, to recording of the event by multiple participants (i.e., from multiple points of view), often simultaneously. Most particularly, the invention relates to a portable recording unit (which can be wearable, at least in part) having capabilities useful in such recording that have not previously been provided in a portable recording unit.
2. Related Art
It is often desirable to record the content of an event by obtaining a visual record of the event. People often desire to capture a visual record of an event (particularly one in which they participate) as a way of facilitating reminiscence of the event. Or, a person may desire to communicate the content of an event to one or more other people who were not present. However, existing devices for obtaining a visual record of an event have characteristics that can diminish their desirability as tools for recording an event, particularly when the person operating the recording device desires to participate in the event.
A camera (“still camera”) for taking a still photograph is one example of a device that has been used to obtain a visual record of an event. However, still photographs can be deficient in representing the content of an event. Some (usually, most) of the visual content of the event is necessarily lost (e.g., the visual content that occurs between the times that photographs are taken). It is also difficult to capture interesting activity that occurs spontaneously, since, absent fortuity, a photograph will not be taken during the occurrence—or, at least, at the beginning of the occurrence—of such activity. Further, the content that is captured lacks context and motion that can convey the nuance and/or vitality of the event. Additionally, a still camera does not record audio content. In addition to deficiencies in the recording of content, use of a still camera also typically requires sufficient attention from the operator of the camera (e.g., aiming of the camera and setting of camera control parameters) that the camera operator cannot participate in the event when a photograph is being taken. (Use of a tripod and timer can eliminate this problem, but generally eliminates the spontaneity of the recorded content as well, and typically requires rather elaborate setup that may not be compatible with the event or be conducive to maximum enjoyment of the event by either the camera operator or other participants in the event.) The camera operator can be further distracted from participation in the event by the need to carry the camera even when the camera is not in use. Additionally, in normal operation of a still camera, the camera operator is not part of the photograph. (This may be particularly undesirable when a primary purpose of the camera operator in obtaining the visual recording is to facilitate later reminiscence of the event.) Further, the use of a typical still camera is readily apparent to other people in the vicinity of the camera operator; such awareness of the use of the camera may cause people to alter their activity (if they perceive that they are within the field of view of the camera) or otherwise interfere with the taking of photographs that record the “natural” occurrence of the event.
A camcorder is another example of a device that has been used to obtain a visual record of an event. Since a camcorder can continuously record an event, and since a camcorder can record audio content, a camcorder can, to some extent, overcome the above-noted deficiencies of a still camera in representing the content of an event. However, since the camcorder operator must focus a considerable amount of attention on operation of the camcorder, the camcorder operator is, to a significant extent, prevented from being an active participant in the event being recorded. Even if the camcorder is not being used at particular time to record the event, carrying the camcorder can prevent or significantly impede participation in the event. Moreover, the inconvenience of using a camcorder may generally deter the camcorder operator from using the camcorder, thus tending to reduce the number of events that are recorded or the amount of a particular event that is recorded. Additionally, the camcorder operator is, excepting atypical operation of the camcorder, not included in the visual recording of the event. Further, camcorders are constructed so that their use is readily apparent to others; such awareness may result in a change in behavior of people within and/or near the field of view of the camcorder so that the content of the recording is artificially altered from the content that would have occurred had the event proceeded naturally (i.e., without awareness by participants in the event of the recording). Typical camcorders also have physical deficiencies which can inhibit their operation. For example, battery capacity is often limited to an extent that undesirably limits the duration of time that the camcorder can operate without interruption. Consumer camcorders also typically are constructed such that the quality of the audio recording obtained may be deficient: the microphone(s) commonly pick up background noise associated with operation of the camcorder motor and are typically positioned at a single location so that sound is sensed from only one point of view.
Often, an event that it is desirable to visually record is a “group event” (i.e., an event observed, or participated in, by multiple persons). Often, some or all of the people that are part of a group event are associated by a desire to share the experience of the event together. A group hike is an example of such an event. A family's trip to an amusement park is another example of such an event. Such group events are frequently events that it is desired to record in order to facilitate later reminiscence. Further, such group events are also often events in which the associated people desire to participate.
Recording of a group event using a still camera or camcorder suffers from the deficiencies (e.g., inhibition of participation in the event by the operator of the recording device, as well as lack of presence of the operator in the recording of the event) described above. However, aside from those deficiencies, recording of a group event presents additional challenges.
For example, the use of a single recording device—of any type—to record a group event limits the content of the recording, since the recording can only be obtained from a single point of view. When a camcorder is used to record an event, it is often the case that a single camcorder is used. (This is especially so because camcorders are so cumbersome to use.) Further, though it may be more likely that multiple (or even all) participants in a group event carry a still camera, typically only one participant takes a photograph at any given time, thus providing only a single point of view from which the event is recorded at a particular time.
Additionally, even if multiple devices are used to record a group event, still cameras and camcorders suffer from other limitations. For example, existing such devices do not provide for sharing of recordings between devices during the event, thus inhibiting or preventing coordination of recording by multiple devices so as to best capture the content of the event (e.g., so as to increase the amount of different content recorded, increase the number of participants recorded and/or record interesting content from multiple viewpoints). Additionally, existing consumer devices do not provide for synchronization in time or coordination in space of the recordings obtained by the devices, making it difficult to later present the recordings together in a coherent fashion. It is typically desirable to acquire a visual recording at a distance from the content being recorded (so as to include more visual content), while it is typically desirable to acquire an audio recording near the content being recorded (so as to make it easier and less expensive to record proximate audio content), a conflict that might potentially be overcome by mixing of multiple recordings of an event obtained at different locations by different recording devices. However, the inability to coordinate and synchronize recordings obtained by multiple still cameras and/or camcorders inhibits the use of those multiple recordings in a manner that mitigates the above-described tension between visual and audio recording (e.g., by mixing a visual recording of content obtained at a distance by one recording device with an audio recording acquired near that content by a different recording device).
During recording of an event, it can be desirable to mark the recording. Some recording devices (e.g., some camcorders) can enable a mark of a single type to be associated with recording data at the time the recording data is obtained, the mark intended to indicate that the content represented by the recording data is of interest and may be particularly desirable to view during later display of the recording. The use of such a mark can enable the medium on which the recording data is stored to be searched to identify and display one or more parts of a recording in accordance with the location of mark(s) within the recording.
In a camcorder, marking is most easily implemented by storing marking data on the videotape onto which recording data is recorded. However, storing marking data on a videotape (or other linear data storage medium) has disadvantages. For example, searching for marks can take an undesirably long time, because the entire recording between a current location within the recording and a marked location within the recording must be traversed to reach the marked location. Additionally, for a similar reason, moving from a display of one marked part of a recording to another marked part of a recording can take an undesirably long time.
It is desirable to have greater flexibility in marking a recording. For example, it is desirable to be able to mark recording data of a recording other than the recording data being obtained at the time the mark is specified. This is particularly so since it may not be realized that it is desirable to mark a part of a recording until some time other than the time at which that part of the recording is being obtained. It is also desirable to be able to mark a recording with marks of different types, each type of mark having a different meaning. Such marking could be used to better facilitate searching and/or display of the recording by enabling increasing specificity in the identification of the content of parts of the recording. Further, it is desirable to store recording data and marking data on a non-linear data storage medium, since that enables faster searching for occurrence of a mark in a recording and also enables more flexible movement between different marked parts of a recording.